Cavalock and The Doped Up Post

Since the authorities here have acknowledged that the rum in a tub of rum and raisins ice-cream isn't going to turn anyone into a drunken lout, how about the poppy seed in them bakes like lemon poppy seed bread. I mean, has anyone ever gotten high after eating them? Just like there aren't people getting drunk on rum and raisins ice-cream, I sure doubt if you can get stoned on a poppy seed bagel. :)

Me and the guys took a short break from gaming last week to indulge in a little makan session at Pasir Panjang food centre, the one right next to the train station. The guys didn't want any carbs so no carbs at all. So there's all this talk about injuries in the army. When I was a teenager and doing my stint, I woke up one morning in camp with a sharp pain around me pelvic area. I couldn't even lift me leg to put on me army trousers. No idea what caused it, I mean I didn't fall or anything like that. Visited the camp doc and got me first taste of painkillers. Headed back to training and everything was fine till bout a week later I ran out of painkillers. Of cos, that familiar piercing pain wasn't far behind and then came another supply of painkillers. At this point, I wound't be surprised if the army doc thought I was faking it when he was prescribing me all them painkillers (again).

Well, I think it was after me third or was it me fourth visit that he finally thought, "maybe this guy ain't faking it after all." Cos that's when he decided to send me for an x-ray. And guess what it revealed, I had a freakin' fracture! Which was very likely aggravated by all the constant workouts that I did while doped up on painkillers! Hah!

Back to the present, one of this year's first few paints, I rather enjoyed painting this guy. It's a single unit or a single model when you are playing it on the battlefield, a Knight Incantor so I didn't really have to worry bout painting a bunch of them in similar colours. I did a bit of deco with the base as well, like adding little twigs to it.

Cavalock and The Boozy Slurpee Discovery

I guess this is the closest I got to a boozy Slurpee drink for lunch. So the Baker-at-Home and I were at Yakinikutei Ao-Chan for lunch last week and saw an irresistible offer for frozen plum sake. it seemed like the perfect choice after a heavy BBQ beef-laden lunch. If you ever been to Beauty in A Pot, it's similar to that little frozen drink they serve at the end of the meal. Kinda cleans the palate.

It's as slushy as cup of Slurpee with a rather strong boozy sake take. Glad that we shared it. Was a little too much ever for me. But something we wouldn't mind having again if we are ever back there.

Spot the typo!

Now if you ever wondered what some of the birds at our Bird Park have for breakfast, here's what my 85-year-old Dad found out. Yummy and nutritious!

Cavalock and The 'Nam Connection

Cheap Japanese beer right in my neighbourhood!?! Too good to be true? Unfortunately that may be the case as I did some snooping around. Well, some good ol'-fashion legwork revealed that all the cans of Sapporo beer available in shops here are made in Vietnam. Well, just like how some Onitsuka Tiger sneakers are now made in Vietnam and therefore cheaper. Apparently, it's the same with Sapporo beer these days. More than a few Japanese familiar product brands have moved their manufacturing plants to Vietnam and according to the Baker-at-Home's Japanese teacher, there is a sizeable Japanese community there today.

The thing is I'm fine with that as long as it's cheaper than the other real made-in-Japan beer brands. Don't go charging me the same price as those other Japanese beer right? I mean, the minimart in my neighbourhood has lowered the price and that's cool. But if you check out (made-in-Vietnam) Sapporo beer in other supermarkets, it's about the same as other made-in-Japan brands. That ain't cool, in my book at least. And I'll be avoiding Sapporo beer in restaurants here too if it's gonna be the same price as other Japanese brands.

Now this caught my eye while I was at Tokyo Hands shopping for (another) journal. So explain to me again, who exactly is this for? 

Cavalock and The Teotihuacan Throw-down

One of the most interesting meals so far this has got to be dinner at Japanese beef joint Yazawa at Robertson Walk. Reminded us of all them Japanese beef restaurants that we visited in Japan as in it reminded us of the fresh and high quality food, and not the dark, dimly lit interior. I mean, it was our first time there and we only saw like, a tiny part of the restaurant and it was pretty damn dark. Anyway food was good and we went with friends who frequent the place so we something that was off the menu. Thin strips of beef, lightly grilled and then quickly dipped in raw egg. Nice but little too pricey.

After dinner, we took a ten second stroll over to sake bar Orihara next door. Counting the highball she had at Yazawa, the Baker-at-Home went for her second, and third and fourth drink (you get the idea) for the night with a sake tasting session. Me? I just stuck with my Suntory Premium Malt. They got an appetizing oden and yakitori menu as well and we are definitely eager to give them a try next time.

Oh yah, and we dropped by Meidi-Ya before dinner and found this. Pringles instant noodles! Not our thing but I believe folks out there are into this. Only $3.40 for one with Jalapeño and Onion flavour tub.

Got the opportunity to play a game of Teotihuacan a couple nights ago. It's a new boardgame that one would call a heavy euro game. Came out at the tail-end of last year and it became a huge hit. A lot of strategy, hardly any randomness even though dice are involved, you don't roll them at all. Won my first three-player game with some luck even though I must say, this is a game with very little luck involved. Luck to me was getting the starting tiles that allowed me to advance my tech. I stayed away from building pyramids even though that could get me points. You can do stuff to get points but you can't do everything. So players move around the board to gather resources such as wood, gold, stone and food. To get fame points you need to do stuff like build pyramids, houses and so on, different tasks require different resources. 

"Travel back in time to the greatest city in Mesoamerica. Witness the glory and the twilight of the powerful pre-Columbian civilization. Strategize, accrue wealth, gain the favour of the gods, and become the builder of the magnificent Pyramid of the Sun.

In Teotihuacan: City of Gods, each player commands a force of worker dice, which grow in strength with every move. On your turn, you move a worker around a modular board, always choosing one of two areas of the location tile you land on: one offering you an action (and a worker upgrade), the other providing you with a powerful bonus (but without an upgrade).

While managing their workforce and resources, players develop new technologies, climb the steps of the three great temples, build houses for the inhabitants of the city, and raise the legendary and breath-taking Pyramid of the Sun in the centre of the city.

Each game is played in three eras. As the dawn of the Aztecs comes closer, player efforts (and their ability to feed their workforce) are evaluated a total of three times. The player with the most fame is the winner."